Method for measuring resistance for a subscriber line interface circuit using a protective circuit

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for ascertaining a resistance value (Z) between a first contact ( 2 ) and a second contact ( 3 ) in a subscriber line interface circuit ( 4 ), where a protective circuit ( 9 ) for protecting the subscriber line interface circuit ( 4 ) against overvoltages is provided between the two contacts ( 2, 3 ) and comprises a parallel circuit containing a protective capacitor ( 5 ) with two resistors ( 7, 8 ) connected in series via a node (K), the node (K) being connected to a third contact ( 10 ) in the subscriber line interface circuit ( 4 ), where the method has the following steps: a predetermined charging voltage (U Charge ) is applied to the protective capacitor ( 5 ); a threshold voltage (U TH ) is calculated on the basis of the resistance values (R 1 , R 2 ) of the two resistors ( 7, 8 ) and the applied charging voltage (U Charge ); a measured voltage (U M ) tapped off across one of the two resistors ( 7, 8 ) is measured while the protective capacitor ( 5 ) is discharging; the measured voltage (U M ) is compared with the calculated threshold voltage (U TH ); a period (Δt) between the start of the discharging of the protective capacitor ( 5 ) and the time at which the measured voltage (U M ) is the same as the threshold voltage (U TH ) is ascertained; and the resistance value (Z) is calculated using the ascertained period (Δt) and the resistance values (R 1 , R 2 ) of the two resistors ( 7, 8 ).

The invention relates to a method for measuring resistance for asubscriber line interface circuit using a protective circuit.

The technical field of the invention relates to line cards (line cardsystems) or subscriber line interface circuits, the basic function ofwhich is to transmit the encoded voice signals from a digital PCMinterface onto the line (and vice versa). In this case, the line,comprising a tip wire and a ring wire or A wire and B wire, needs to beoperated using low-frequency programmable voltages.

In addition, the line card has the function of monitoring the signals onthe line and external circuits without using a specially provided testunit. By way of example, it is an aim to measure the unknown resistancebetween the ring wire and ground (or between the tip wire and ground orbetween the tip wire and the ring wire) with a predefined level ofprecision (typically 10%). In the case of known methods for measuringthe resistance between the ring wire and ground (the same applies tomeasurements of the resistance between the ring wire and the tip wireand between the tip wire and ground), the line card needs to be put intoa defined measurement mode in which, by way of example, the ring wirehas a predefined potential (for example −50 V) applied to it. In asubsequent step, the current flowing between the ring wire and ground ismeasured by a control unit on the line card. The resistance between thering wire and ground is calculated from the quotient of thepredetermined voltage and the measured current.

A drawback of this known method is that a critical signal-to-noise ratiofor the current measurement arises if the resistance which is to bemeasured is greater than 2 MΩ. At a predetermined potential of −50 V,the current to be measured would then be 25 μA. The high signal-to-noiseratio which arises means that this current level is too low to be ableto be measured with sufficient accuracy. From time to time, a toleranceof 10% might no longer be ensured. However, such a tolerance of no morethan 10% is demanded by the telecommunication companies in somecountries (e.g. Telecom Italia).

The aforementioned problem could be solved by using larger transistorsfor the subscriber line interface circuit, which are known to havebetter signal-to-noise ratio characteristics. However, the use of largertransistors would significantly increase the chip area for the linecard, which would not be in keeping with a required level of large-scaleintegration for the components in the subscriber line interface circuit.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a simple andinexpensive method for measuring resistance for a subscriber lineinterface circuit which allows even large resistances to be measuredwith a high level of precision.

The invention achieves this object by means of a method having thefeatures of patent claim 1.

The idea on which the present invention is based is essentially toprovide a method for ascertaining a resistance value between a firstcontact and a second contact in a subscriber line interface circuit,where a protective circuit for protecting the subscriber line interfacecircuit against overvoltages is provided between the two contacts andcomprises a parallel circuit containing a protective capacitor with tworesistors connected in series via a node, the node being connected to athird contact in the subscriber line interface circuit, where the methodhas the following steps:

-   -   a) a predetermined charging voltage is applied to the protective        capacitor;    -   b) a threshold voltage is calculated on the basis of the        resistance values of the two resistors and the applied charging        voltage;    -   c) a measured voltage tapped off across one of the two resistors        is measured while the protective capacitor is discharging;    -   d) the measured voltage is compared with the calculated        threshold voltage;    -   e) a period between the start of the discharging of the        protective capacitor and the time at which the measured voltage        is the same as the threshold voltage is ascertained; and    -   f) the resistance value is calculated using the ascertained        period and the resistance values of the two resistors.

One advantage of the present invention is that the invention'smeasurement method means that it is also possible to measure largeresistances with a high level of precision, since no criticalsignal-to-noise ratio arises for this measurement method. Accordingly,the inventive measurement method is highly sensitive and can also beused for signaling purposes.

In line with one preferred development, the first contact connects a tipwire and the second contact connects a ring wire to the subscriber lineinterface circuit, so that the resistance value between the ring wireand the tip wire is determined.

In line with a further preferred development, the first contact connectsthe ring wire and the second contact connects ground to the subscriberline interface circuit, so that the resistance value between the ringwire and ground is determined.

In line with a further preferred development, the first contact connectsthe tip wire and the second contact connects ground to the subscriberline interface circuit, so that the resistance value between the tipwire and ground is determined.

In line with a further preferred development, the threshold voltage iscalculated using an internal control device in the subscriber lineinterface circuit or an external control device.

One advantage of this preferred development is that both internalresources in the subscriber line interface circuit and externalresources may be used for calculating the threshold voltage.

In line with a further preferred development, the application of thepredetermined charging voltage to the protective capacitor is controlledby the internal control device.

In line with a further preferred development, the period is ascertainedusing the internal control device.

In line with a further preferred development, the resistance value iscalculated using the internal control device in the subscriber lineinterface circuit, and the calculated resistance value is transmitted tothe external control device.

In line with a further preferred development, the ascertained period istransmitted from the internal control device to the external controldevice, which subsequently calculates the resistance value.

In line with a further preferred development, an interrupt is generatedby the subscriber line interface circuit when the measured voltage isthe same as the threshold voltage, the interrupt being transmitted tothe external control device, which ascertains the period and hencecalculates the resistance value.

In line with a further preferred development, the charging voltage ispredetermined using the internal control device or the external controldevice.

One advantage of this preferred development is that the charging voltagecan be predetermined by various control devices.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawingsand are explained in more detail in the description below.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a first measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value in line with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the inventive measurement method over the dischargingoperation of the protective capacitor, using a U/t graph;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a second measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value between the ring wire in the subscriberline interface circuit and ground in line with the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a third measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value between the tip wire in the subscriberline interface circuit and ground in line with the invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a fourth measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value between the tip wire and the ring wire inthe subscriber line interface circuit in line with the invention.

In all figures of the drawings, elements which are the same or have thesame function have been provided with the same reference symbols—unlessstated otherwise.

Although the present invention is described below with reference tosubscriber line interface circuits or subscriber line interface systems,it is not limited thereto but rather can be used in a wide variety ofways.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a first measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value in line with the invention.

The resistance value to be measured is denoted by the reference symbolZ. In this and all subsequent block diagrams, reference symbol 1denotes, as an alternative, the unknown resistance, which has theresistance value Z. The resistance 1 to be measured is connected to asubscriber line interface circuit 4 by means of a first contact 2 and asecond contact 3 in the subscriber line interface circuit 4.

Connected in parallel with the resistance 1 is a protective capacitor 5.A voltage divider 6, which contains a first resistor 7 with a firstresistance value R₁ and a second resistor 8 with a second resistancevalue R₂ connected in series, is connected in parallel with theprotective capacitor 5.

The protective capacitor 5 and the voltage divider 6 connected inparallel therewith produce a protective circuit 9.

The protective circuit 9 and the resistance 1 in parallel therewith canbe characterized, like any RC element, by means of a time constant T,the time constant T being formed by the product of the total resistancevalue R_(tot) and the capacitance C of the protective capacitor 5.T=R _(tot) ·C

In this case, the total resistance value R_(tot) of the protectivecircuit 9 and of the resistance 1 which is in parallel therewith iscalculated as follows:$R_{tot} = \frac{Z \cdot \left( {R_{1} + R_{2}} \right)}{\left( {Z + R_{1} + R_{2}} \right)}$

Between the serially connected resistors (7, 8) there is a node K whichis connected to the third contact 10 of the subscriber line interfacecircuit 4. It is thus possible to measure the measured voltage U_(M)drop across the second resistor 8 between the third contact 10 and thesecond contact 3.

The measurement arrangement described above can be used to perform thefollowing measurement method in line with the invention:

In a first step, a predetermined charging voltage U_(Charge) is appliedto the protective capacitor 5. By way of example, the capacitance of theprotective capacitor 5 is 15 nF (C=15 nF) and the charging voltageU_(Charge) is −50 V (U_(Charge)=−50 V), for example.

In a second step, a threshold voltage U_(TH) is calculated on the basisof the first resistance value R₁, the second resistance value R₂ and theapplied charging voltage U_(Charge). The threshold voltage U_(TH) iscalculated on the basis of the geometry of the measurement arrangementshown in FIG. 1 using the formula below. In this case, it should beremembered that the threshold voltage U_(TH) corresponds to the measuredvoltage U_(M) when the time t corresponds to the time constant T of theprotective circuit 9.${U_{M}(t)} = {\frac{R_{2}}{R_{1} + R_{2}} \cdot U_{Charge} \cdot {\exp\left( {- \frac{t}{T}} \right)}}$$\begin{matrix}{U_{TH} = {U_{M}\left( {t = T} \right)}} \\{= {{\frac{R_{2}}{R_{1} + R_{2}} \cdot U_{Charge}}\quad{\exp\left( {- \frac{T}{T}} \right)}}} \\{= {\frac{R_{2}}{R_{1} + R_{2}} \cdot U_{Charge} \cdot 0.3679}}\end{matrix}$

By way of example, the typical values such as R₁=10 MΩ, R₂=47 kΩ andU_(c) =−50 V, a value of −86.05 mV is obtained for the threshold voltageU_(TH).

In a subsequent step, the protective capacitor 5 is discharged, and atthe same time a timer for ascertaining the period Δt is started and themeasured voltage U_(M) drop across the second resistor 8 on account ofthe discharging operation in the protective capacitor 5 is measured. Theperiod Δt is measured between the start of the discharging of theprotective capacitor 5 and the time when the measured voltage U_(M) isthe same as the threshold voltage U_(TH). The resistance value Z iscalculated from the first resistance value R₁, from the secondresistance value R₂ and from the recorded period Δt using the twoformulae below, where the time constant T needs to be set to be equal tothe measured period Δt: $R_{tot} = \frac{T}{C}$$Z = \frac{R_{tot} \cdot \left( {R_{1} + R_{2}} \right)}{\left( {R_{1} + R_{2} - R_{tot}} \right)}$

FIG. 2 shows the inventive measurement method over the dischargingoperation in the protective capacitor using a U/t graph.

The x axis in the U/t graph shown in FIG. 2 shows the time t forascertaining the period Δt, which is started when the protectivecapacitor 5 starts to discharge.

The y axis of the U/t graph shown in FIG. 2 shows the time profile ofthe measured voltage U_(M)(t).

At the time t=0, the measured voltage U_(M) is:${U_{M}\left( {t = 0} \right)} = {\frac{R_{2}}{R_{1} + R_{2}} \cdot U_{Charge}}$

When the protective capacitor 5, which has the capacitance C, starts todischarge, the absolute value of the measured voltage U_(M) is reducedon the basis of the exponential function exp$\left( {- \frac{t}{T}} \right).$Once the absolute value of the measured voltage U_(M) reaches theabsolute value of the threshold voltage U_(TH), the period Δt isrecorded.

As FIG. 1 shows, the resistance value Z is calculated from the recordedperiod Δt, from the first resistance value R₁and from the secondresistance value R₂.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a second measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value between the ring wire in the subscriberline interface circuit and ground in line with the invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the reference symbol 11 denotes the ring wire inthe subscriber line interface circuit 4 and the reference symbol 13denotes ground.

The first contact 2 connects the ring wire 11 to the subscriber lineinterface circuit 4, and the second contact 3 connects ground 13 to thesubscriber line interface circuit 4, so that the resistance value Zbetween the ring wire 11 and ground 13 is ascertained using the methoddescribed above.

The subscriber line interface circuit 4 has an internal control device14 which is used to calculate the threshold voltage U_(TH), which isused to control the charging of the protective capacitor 5 with thepredetermined charging voltage U_(Charge), which is used to record theperiod Δt and which is used to calculate the resistance value Z.

In addition, the subscriber line interface circuit 4 has a multiplexer16 which has the function of respectively connecting the line inquestion to the internal control device 14. The internal control device14 controls the multiplexer 16 via a control line 17 using the controlsignal CTRL.

If, as shown in FIG. 3, it is necessary to measure the resistance valueZ between the ring wire 11, connected by means of the first contact 2,and ground 13, connected by means of the second contact 3, then themultiplexer 16 for the time being connects the ring wire 11 and ground13 to the internal control device 14, which controls the application ofthe predetermined charging voltage U_(Charge) to the protectivecapacitor 5. To measure the measured voltage U_(M) drop across thesecond resistor 8 at that time, instead of the ring wire 11 the linewhich is connected to the third contact 10 is connected to the internalcontrol device 14 by the multiplexer 16.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a third measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value between the tip wire in the subscriberline interface circuit and ground in line with the invention.

The protective circuit 9 is connected to the tip wire 12, which isconnected to the first contact 2 in the subscriber line interfacecircuit 4, and to the second contact 3 in the subscriber line interfacecircuit 4, which is connected to ground 13. In the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 4, the multiplexer 16 has the function of connecting thetip wire 12 to the internal control device 14 while the protectivecapacitor 5 in the protective circuit 9 is being charged.

When the protective capacitor 5 starts to discharge, the line which isconnected by means of the third contact 10 is connected to the internalcontrol device 14 by means of the multiplexer 16, in a similar manner toin FIG. 3.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the internalcontrol device 14 in the subscriber line interface circuit 4 isconnected to an external control device 15.

Using the external control device 15, the threshold voltage U_(TH) canbe calculated, as with the internal control device 14 in the subscriberline interface circuit 4.

Alternatively, the internal control device 14 generates just aninterrupt if the recorded measured voltage U_(M) corresponds to thethreshold voltage U_(TH), in which case this interrupt is transmitted tothe external control device 15, which ascertains the period Δt and hencethe resistance value Z between the tip wire 12 and ground 13.

The charging voltage U_(Charge) can be predetermined either by theinternal control device 14 in the subscriber line interface circuit 4 orby the external control device 15.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a fourth measurement arrangement formeasuring the resistance value Z between the tip wire and the ring wirein the subscriber line interface circuit in line with the invention.

FIG. 5 differs from the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 only inthat the protective circuit 9 is not connected between the tip wire 12and ground 13, as in FIG. 4, but rather in that the protective circuit 9is connected between the tip wire 12 and the ring wire 11, so that theresistance value Z between the tip wire 12 and the ring wire 11 can bemeasured.

Although the present invention has been described above with referenceto preferred exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto but rathercan be modified in a wide variety of ways.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. A method for obtaining a resistance value between a first contact and a second contact of a subscriber line interface circuit, wherein a first circuit configured to protect the subscriber line interface circuit against overvoltages is also coupled between the first and second contacts, the first circuit having a first time constant, the method comprising: a) providing a charging voltage to the first circuit, the first circuit coupled to the resistance to be measured; and b) determining the resistance value based on a discharge time of the charging voltage and the first time constant.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first circuit includes at least one resistor coupled between the first and second contacts, and at least one capacitor coupled parallel to the at least one resistor and between the first and second contacts.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein a combination of the first circuit and the resistance value have a second time constant different from the first time constant.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein step b) further comprises: b1) determining a threshold voltage based on the first time constant; b2) determining the discharge time based on discharging the charging voltage on the first circuit to the threshold voltage; b3) determining the resistance value based on in part on the discharge time.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising a step of providing the first contact connected to a tip wire and the second contact connected to a ring wire, such that the resistance value between the ring wire and the tip wire is determined.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising a step of providing the first contact connected to a ring wire and the second contact connected to ground, such that the resistance value between the ring wire and ground is determined.
 18. The method of claim 12, further comprising a step of providing the first contact connected to a tip wire and the second contact connected to ground, such that the resistance value between the tip wire and ground is determined.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein b1) further comprises determining the threshold voltage using an internal control device of the subscriber line interface circuit.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein b2) further comprises determining the discharge time using the internal control device.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein b2) further comprises providing the discharge time from the internal control device to an external control device, and wherein b3) further comprises determining the resistance value using the external control device.
 22. The method of claim 15, wherein b3) further comprises determining the resistance value using an internal control device of the subscriber line interface circuit.
 23. The method of claim 12, wherein step a) further comprises providing the charging voltage to the first circuit using an internal control device of the subscriber line interface circuit.
 24. The method of claim 15, wherein b2) further comprises generating an interrupt using the subscriber line interface circuit when the charging voltage discharges to a level that is substantially equal to the threshold voltage, and providing the interrupt to an external control device, and b3) further comprises determining the resistance value at the external control device.
 25. The method of claim 12, wherein step a) further comprises providing a predetermined charging voltage to the first circuit.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein step a) further comprises providing a predetermined charging voltage to the first circuit using an internal control device of the subscriber line interface circuit.
 27. A method for obtaining a resistance value between a first contact and a second contact of in a subscriber line interface circuit, wherein a first circuit configured to protect the subscriber line interface circuit against overvoltages is also coupled between the first and second contacts, the first circuit including at least one resistor coupled between the first and second contacts and at least one parallel capacitor, the first circuit having a first time constant, the method comprising: a) providing a charging voltage to the at least one parallel capacitor, the first circuit coupled to the resistance to be measured; and b) discharging the at least one parallel capacitor to a threshold voltage, said discharging providing a discharge time; and c) determining the resistance value based on the discharge time of the charging voltage.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein step b) further comprises determining the threshold voltage based at least in part on the first time constant.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein a combination of the first circuit and the resistance value have a second time constant different from the first time constant.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein step a) further comprises providing the charging voltage to the at least one parallel capacitor using an internal control device of the subscriber line interface circuit.
 31. The method of claim 30, further comprising a step of providing a first and a second resistor as the at least one resistor, and further providing a connection between a node and a third contact of the subscriber line interface circuit, the node defined between the first and second resistors. 